Visit the UK’s leading indoor agricultural event, with eleven packed halls of the very latest in agricultural machinery and equipment. Now at the NEC, Birmingham this is free to attend and free to park.

TFA

Make the transition from direct payments at least five years to allow for the creation of a new suite of schemes

Cap direct payments at £100,000 during the transition to counter rental inflation

Introduce a new farm business development scheme, allowing farmers to apply for plan-led funding and Government-backed loan guarantees for on-farm investment

Ensure the new environmental land management scheme follows the principles of the old Environmentally Sensitive Areas, offering a tiered approach and implemented through active project officers engaging with farmers at a grass roots level

Include the Tenancy Reform Industry Group recommendations in the Agriculture Bill

NSA

Apply equal reductions to all farm payments, regardless of claim size

Ensure the ‘agricultural transition’ period allows plenty of time to adapt and minimise disruption – make it a minimum of five years after the UK-EU deal is agreed and the Agriculture Bill is passed

Establish a ‘sheep health scheme’ to support farmers to make on-farm improvements and reduce their carbon footprint

Offer incentives for farmers to work together for research, land management and marketing purposes

Avoid any disruption to domestic trade by creating a level regulatory platform with consistent movement and traceability rules and, within reason, financial support programmes

Use ‘earned recognition’ to simplify current inspection processes and reduce the role of the RPA

Maintain current budget levels for farming, land management and rural development, with an increased proportion going to active farmers

NFUS

Recognise the unique needs of the Scottish agricultural industry in any new policy framework

Respect the devolution settlement

Protect the UK’s single market

Establish common UK frameworks through mutual agreement between the UK Government and the devolved administrations

Ensure Scottish agriculture receives at least the same amount of funding as it does now, and ringfence future budgets

FUW

Give food production and caring for the environment equal importance

Ensure green aspirations do not plunge rural economies into depression

Make sure trade deals do not undermine standards

Remain in both the single market and customs union to protect agricultural trade

Take note of changes to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and how they could affect markets and competition, moving to ensure any adverse impacts are mitigated

Be more realistic about consumer priorities in new markets, given that according to AHDB research, more shoppers have a negative perception of British food than a positive one and welfare and sustainability are the two lowest consumer priorities

NFU CYMRU

Prioritise new trade agreement with the EU and ensure access continues to be free and frictionless

Ensure trade deals do not undermine standards

Arrive at common UK frameworks through mutual consent

Ensure funding for Welsh agriculture is not allocated through the Barnett Formula

SUSTAIN

Ensure the Agriculture Bill delivers public health outcomes as part of an integrated strategy which includes public procurement, mitigating climate change and promoting whole farm approaches such as organic

Tackle supply chain unfairness

Make farm work attractive to domestic workers and ensure all farm workers can make a decent living and progress in their work

Allow English farm workers to collectively negotiate on wages and progression

Ensure future policy protects farm diversity

Set out budgetary frameworks as soon as possible

Ensure the polluter pays and precautionary principles underpin policy

Protect standards in trade deals

NEW FOREST COMMONERS

Ensure any future policy allows New Forest commoners to work on one all-encompassing, locally-designed and locally-led scheme which will deliver public benefits at landscape scale

Put right the omission of lowland heaths and commons from the consultation. They are some of the rarest habitats and most popular landscapes, which face their own unique challenges such as creeping urbanisation

Ensure the transition does not bring about an abrupt disruption to commoning activities, learning lessons from the transition from SPS to BPS

Ensure there is a stock of holdings available to rent and existing holdings are retained

Improve transport and broadband

Ensure affordable housing is available in rural areas

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT

The responses to the consultation will be used to shape the Agriculture Bill, which was due to be published in spring, but will now be released in the ‘second half of this year’.

Another consultation on a new policy statement which will set out the Government’s environmental principles is also expected ‘within weeks’.

The statement will underpin future policy-making, and Defra Secretary Michael Gove has confirmed it will contain the controversial precautionary principle.

Following that, next year’s Queen’s Speech in May will contain an announcement to bring forward an Environment Bill. This Bill will establish an environmental watchdog to hold the Government to account after Brexit.